https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Rebecca_Reuben_NowgaokarRebecca Reuben Nowgaokar - Revision history2026-11-07T21:13:31ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rebecca_Reuben_Nowgaokar&diff=530122&oldid=prevStuee.Singh: new.2026-04-08T01:17:44Z<p>new.</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|Jewish Indian Pedagogue writer}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2025}}<br />
{{Infobox person<br />
| name = Rebecca Reuben Nowgaokar<br />
| image = העוגן - הגברת רבקה ראובן, מנהלת ביה"ס ע"ש כדורי לבני ישראל בבומבי, באה לראות את הקמת הישוב החדש "העו-JNF007002.jpeg<br />
| alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --><br />
| caption = Nowgaokar in [[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]] in 1947<br />
| birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --><br />
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1889|09|18}}<br />
| birth_place = [[Shimoga]], Karnataka, India<br />
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1957|11|16|1889|09|18}}<br />
| death_place = [[Bombay]], Maharashtra, India<br />
| other_names = <br />
| occupation = Writer, Educator<br />
| years_active = <br />
| known_for = [[Pedagogy]]<br />
| notable_works = <br />
}}<br />
'''Rebecca Reuben Nowgaokar''' (18 September 1889 – 16 November 1957) was a [[History of the Jews in Mumbai|Jewish-Indian]] writer and educator. She was the [[Director (education)|director]] of the [[School Committee]] of the [[Bene Israel]] in [[Mumbai]] from 1922 to 1950.<br />
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==Early life and family==<br />
She was born in [[Shimoga]] in the state of [[Karnataka]] in [[British India]] in 1889, into a family that led a congregation of [[Bene Israel]]. Her paternal grandfather, Rubenji Suri Nowgaoker, was a Marathi poet in the early 19th century.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=חפיף-דיגמי |first1=ויויאן |last2=Hafif-Digmi |first2=Vivian |title=The Power of Weakness: Rebecca Reuben, Leader of the Bene Israel in India 1920—1957 / כוחה של החולשה: רבקה ראובן, מנהיגת עדת בני-ישראל בהודו 1920—1957 |journal=Pe'amim: Studies in Oriental Jewry / פעמים: רבעון לחקר קהילות ישראל במזרח |date=2012 |issue=131 |page=130 |jstor=23432897 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23432897 |issn=0334-4088}}</ref> Her maternal grandfather, Avraham Samuel Nagavekar (born 1843), was an engineer and one of the first academics from the Bene Israel community and his father, [[:he:שמואל מוזס נאגבקר|Major Samuel Moses Nagavekar]] (1816-1904) was a senior officer who participated in the major campaigns in the [[Indian revolt|Indian Revolt]]. Most of the family members followed their footsteps and became freelancers. Her father, Ezra, was a lawyer and later a judge known for his toughness, and her mother was one of the first women to graduate from the community.<ref name="a">{{cite book |last1=Feinberg |first1=Miriam P. |last2=Shapiro |first2=Miriam Klein |title=Hear Her Voice: Twelve Jewish Women Who Changed the World |year=2006 |publisher=Devora Publishing |isbn=978-1-932687-78-1 |pages=79–80 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jHcBfbq3CYkC&pg=PA79 |language=en}}</ref><br />
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==Education==<br />
She attended the local girls' boarding school in the city of [[Pune]], which conducted classes in three languages: [[Marathi language|Marathi]], [[Sanskrit]] and English. During the school holidays she learned [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] from her father. In 1905, she completed her high school education, becoming the first woman to receive the highest score on the entrance exams to [[Mumbai University]]. She also won an award for her excellence in science, but chose to pursue her career in education. In Mumbai, she studied history and went on to study Hebrew, after which she went to study in England and studied pedagogy at the [[University of London]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://jwa.org/media/bene-israel-2-still-image | title=Rebecca Reuben of Bene Israel | publisher=[[Jewish Women's Archive]] | accessdate=24 July 2025}}</ref> and Hebrew and Jewish Studies in [[Cambridge University]] under Prof. [[Israel Abrahams]].<ref name="a"/><br />
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==Work==<br />
Upon her return to India in 1913, she taught in a number of general schools, including the boarding school at Pune where she attended in her youth, [[Huzurpaga]]. In 1920, she was appointed principal of a teacher training college in the Indian city of [[Baroda]]. She retired from this position with the desire to return and contribute to her community, and from 1922 to 1950, she served as the principal of the Bene Israel High School in Mumbai, where about 600 students studied. The school changed its name in the early 1920s, and was renamed after the Jewish [[Philanthropy|philanthropist]] [[ Sir Elly Kadoorie High School ]], after in a meeting between him and Reuben in London. She managed to persuade him to donate a sum of about 150,000 rupees to the school.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Roland |first1=Joan G. |title=Jewish Communities of India: Identity in a Colonial Era |date=2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-30982-0 |page=129 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gCNHDwAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> During her tenure as the principal of the Community High School, she became one of the leaders of the Bene Israel community, served in public positions and committees of the [[Government of India]] dealing with education in [[West India]], and engaged in [[pedagogy]], [[literature]] and [[research]]. Her status in the community exceeded that of a school principal and she actually served as an unofficial leader of the community.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=חפיף-דיגמי |first1=ויויאן |last2=Hafif-Digmi |first2=Vivian |title=The Power of Weakness: Rebecca Reuben, Leader of the Bene Israel in India 1920—1957 / כוחה של החולשה: רבקה ראובן, מנהיגת עדת בני-ישראל בהודו 1920—1957 |journal=Pe'amim: Studies in Oriental Jewry / פעמים: רבעון לחקר קהילות ישראל במזרח |date=2012 |issue=131 |pages=115–145 |jstor=23432897 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23432897 |issn=0334-4088}}</ref><ref name="c">{{cite book |last1=Haeems |first1=Nina |title=Rebecca Reuben, 1889-1947: Scholar, Educationist, Community Leader |date=2000 |publisher=Vacha Trust |page=173 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yMssAQAAIAAJ&q=Rebecca+Reuben |language=en}}</ref><br />
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While teaching at [[Huzurpaga]], Reuben started the magazine ''Balikardash''.<ref>Farias, Kranti. ''[https://www.academia.edu/7710329/Rebecca_Reuben_...great_Bene_Israel_Educationist Rebecca Reuben ...great Bene Israel Educationist]''. [[Academia.edu]]</ref> Reuben has authored a series of English language textbooks called ''Ashok'' which have been very successful in India and have been used in schools across the [[Maharashtra state]] . It was initiated by the publication of monthly educational called ''Nofet'' ({{langx|he|נופת}} meaning ''innocence'') for [[Jews|Jewish]] children, and during 1917–1920, edited the Bene Israel Year Book. She has published scholarly papers on the Commission "Children of Israel" in Hebrew and English on various platforms, including a booklet on community in Mumbai, published by [[Cambridge University Press]] in 1913. Rubin also dealt fiction and connected short stories and published newspaper that several translations to Hebrew Of stories from [[Indian folk tales|Indian folk]] literature.<ref name="c"/><br />
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In 1947, she visited [[Eretz Israel]] on a mission from the Mumbai Zionist Association and represented Indian Jews at the first international conference "''[[Jewish education|Hebrew Education]] in the Diaspora''" held that year in Jerusalem. On visiting [[Israel]] she said {{Blockquote|"my eyes have seen the majesty of the Creator [...] wasteland resuscitated, this is yet another ancient language by all and many of them babies on the street to say this [...] to the prominent position nurses work hand in hand with men in all the areas of Building the country."(<small>English translation</small>)<ref>{{cite news |title=כינוס "קול האדמה" {{!}} הצפה {{!}} 26 ספטמבר 1947 {{!}} אוסף העיתונות {{!}} הספרייה הלאומית |url=https://www.nli.org.il/he/newspapers/hzh/1947/09/26/01/article/56/?e=-------he-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxTI--------------1 |work=www.nli.org.il |publisher=[[National Library of Israel]] in partnership with [[Tel Aviv University]] |date=26 September 1947 |language=he}}</ref>}} The views of the [[Zionism|Zionist]] combined with her passion to Israel in her native India was reflected in her later works, and was operated in parallel deepening Jewish identity of students and strengthen their ties to India and Indian society. She remained in India after most of the [[Bene Israel]] community returned to Israel, and continued educational activities and public service in the country until her death in Mumbai in 1957.<ref name="c"/><br />
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==Books==<br />
*{{cite book |last1=Reuben |first1=Rebecca |title=The Bene Israel of Bombay |date=1913 |publisher=Cambridge University Press (Cambridge Jewish Publications) |location=Cambridge |edition=4 |url=https://www.granthsanjeevani.com/jspui/handle/123456789/111120?searchWord=The&backquery=[query=The%20Bene%20Israel%20of%20Bombay&rpp=20&sort_by=score&order=desc}}<br />
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==Further reading==<br />
*{{cite journal |last1=חפיף-דיגמי |first1=ויויאן |last2=Hafif-Digmi |first2=Vivian |title=The Power of Weakness: Rebecca Reuben, Leader of the Bene Israel in India 1920—1957 / כוחה של החולשה: רבקה ראובן, מנהיגת עדת בני-ישראל בהודו 1920—1957 |journal=Pe'amim: Studies in Oriental Jewry / פעמים: רבעון לחקר קהילות ישראל במזרח |date=2012 |issue=131 |pages=115–145 |jstor=23432897 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23432897 |issn=0334-4088}}<br />
*{{cite book |last1=Shazor |first1=Ilana |title=Mother India, Father Israel |date=2018 |publisher=Independently Published |isbn=978-1-9805-9786-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I4PetgEACAAJ |language=en}}<br />
*{{cite book |last1=Haeems |first1=Nina |title=Rebecca Reuben, 1889-1947: Scholar, Educationist, Community Leader |date=2000 |publisher=Vacha Trust |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yMssAQAAIAAJ |language=en}}<br />
*{{cite book |last1=Feinberg |first1=Miriam P. |last2=Shapiro |first2=Miriam Klein |title=Hear Her Voice: Twelve Jewish Women Who Changed the World |date=2006 |publisher=Devora Publishing |isbn=978-1-932687-78-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jHcBfbq3CYkC&pg=PA79 |language=en}}<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
{{Commons category-inline|Rebecca Reuben Nowgaokar}}<br />
*{{Cite news|last=Lakshmi|first=C. S.|date=4 February 2001|title=Selective amnesia|work=[[The Hindu]]|url=http://www.hindu.com/2001/02/04/stories/1304067s.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606205921/http://www.hindu.com/2001/02/04/stories/1304067s.htm|archive-date=2014-06-06}}<br />
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{{Authority control}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Reuben Nowgaokar, Rebecca}}<br />
[[Category:1889 births]]<br />
[[Category:1957 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Indian Jews]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian women writers]]<br />
[[Category:Educators from Maharashtra]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian writers]]<br />
[[Category:People from Shimoga]]<br />
[[Category:Jewish women writers]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian Jews]]<br />
[[Category:Alumni of the University of London]]<br />
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge]]</div>Stuee.Singh